Cause of brush fire determined

October 11, 2012

The Laguna Beach Fire Department has determined that down power lines operated by Southern California Edison were responsible for a nearly 5-acre brush fire that broke out Sept. 16 at Coast Highway and Nyes Place, according to the investigation report released Thursday.

"The fire began well within the brush and had a moderate rate of spread to the north. Defensive actions were focused on the direction of fire movement, which was to the north, while reserving units to anchor the heel of the fire nearest the mobile home park," according to the report.

The fire, just above Ruby's Diner, was contained at 4.8 acres at about 1:30 p.m. that day. One Orange County Fire Authority firefighter was injured and no structures were damaged.

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"After the fire was declared controlled, and while control lines were in place, Edison was permitted to attempt to remove the power pole in the area of origin so that they could restore services. They attempted to remove the pole and attached a transformer via the use of their helicopter," the report stated.